Book-holder



E Yw 0d NM H k w AB L Patented March 22,1881.

' Inventor.-

vgl 6/ 1 114,

NAPETERSL PHDTO-LITHOGRAP UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LA VEBNE W. NOYE S, OF BATAVIA, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENT, TO GEORGE H. HAZELTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BOOK-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,055, dated March 22, 1881. Application filed. September 18, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LA VERNE W. NOYES, of Batavia, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Book-Holders, which are fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the holder with a book placed thereon and closed; Fig. 2, an end elevation of the same; Fig. 3, an end elevation of the same with the book thrown open; Fig. 4, a plan section of the fastening devices for securing together the legs of the stand; and Fig. 5, an inside view ofoneof the fastening devices, showing the groove for the wire and screw-hole by which the several parts are fastened together.

My invention relates to a stand and holder designed for the accommodation of large books, such as dictionariesand other books of reference, and constructed to hold the book clasped in a closed position or supported in an open position, as maybe desired, and also provided with handles, whereby the stand and book, in a closed position, may be conveniently moved from place to place.

The invention consists in various special features of construction and combinations of devices, all of which will hereinafter be full y explained, and the particular improvement pointed out in the claims. 7

The holder, including the stand, is made in sections which are identical with each other, and which are placed facing each other and secured together by angle-irons and bands, hereinafter described. Hence, in speaking of the wire portion of the stand and top only one sideis referred to, it being understood that the other side is like the one described.

A designates one side of the top or holder. In practice it is usually made of No. 9 wire and in one piece. It is so bent that a middle portion, E, about four inches long, stands over the edge of the book, forming both a handle to lift by and a guard to keep thebook from slipping off when open, as in Fig. 3. After passing down on the side of the book there are loops at and a, formed by placing two pins, properly secured together, astride the will hereinafter be described. The portion of the wire B between 0 and o is straight, but at these points it turns back parallel with itself to r and r. The ends of the wire A, after passing around the wire B, pass off nearly at right angles with the surface of the book for a suitable distance, then again come back to the surface of the book on the outside of the portionsof the wire B designated by 0 r and o r, where loops are made, into which the bands 8 and s, which pass under the book, are fastened to the corresponding loops in the other part of the top. The portions of A which pass around B and then extend back a distance, and finally come up to the book again on the outside of the portions 0 r and 0 w, together form the stop that prevents the book from opening-beyond a certain point, as shown in Fig. 3. This portion of the wires A and B will hereinafter be referred to as stops.

The stand is usually made of No.7 wire. After the wire B reaches 'r and r it turns downward to points t and t, where loops are formed, for purposes which will hereinafter appear. It then passes down to m and m,where it-is bent into suitable shape for feet for the stand. It then passes obliquely up to a central point, D, and there is bent at a suitable angle and passes out to the points tand t, where it is hooked into the loops before mentioned and closed onto the wire. Thus the wire B forms the two triangles t m D and t m D, which triangles, together with the two similar triangles formed by the other half of the stand, all have an angle at a common point, D, and these triangles stand separately and at right angles to each other, the feet forming a rectangle on the floor. This triangular arrangement of the legs of the stand secures great stiffness and firmness in the stand even when it is made of slender wire.

To hold the feet in position and to keep the legs of the stand together erect and firm, four angle-irons, H H H H, are formed with grooves, as shown by Fig. 5, such that when two of them are put together on an angle of the wire at D they will surround it and hold it rigidly, and at the same time each of these two angle-irons so used will present a similarly grooved surface at right angles to the plane of the previous angle for the reception of another angle of one of the remaining triangles, and, with the addition of another angle-iron, will encompass it and hold it securely. In this way each of these four angle-irons helps to secure two triangular portions of two different legs of the stand. When the fourare put together and fastened with screws or otherwise the angles at D of the four triangular portions are all encompassed and held rigidly together, as shown in Fig. 4.

A stand might be formed with more or less than four legs, in which case the angle between the two grooved surfaces would not be a right angle. This, however, is immaterial. The device is practicallythe same, but four legs have been found most convenient.

The bands .9 8, previously referred to, serve to hold the book from slipping down when it is closed, and also hold the two sides of the top firmly against the sides of the book. Wire has been used for these bands, but a strong tape or braid is considered preferable.

A hinged top or holder, like the one previously described, may be put on any kind of a stand suitably arranged and answer the purpose, it being only requisite that the stand should have two pairs of parallel bars or rods of any strong and stiff material, similar in position to the portions 0 0 and r r of the wire 13, and resting on supports having a lateral spring for the leaves to turn on and the stops to lock against; but the stand previously described has been found preferable, being cheaper and more satisfactory, as well as lighter and more pleasing to the eye. Also, the top or holder may be dispensed with by hinging the covers of the book to the wire B at o and 0. In this Way it will operate very satisfactorily with simply the stand and the appliances for hinging the cover to it with suitable stops, thus substituting the cover of the book for the top or holder. But this arrangement is open to various objections, among which are, marrin g the cover of the book by fastening stops and hinges to it, the undesirability of attaching the book permanently to the stand, and the want of stiffness in the book-cover to withstand the strain.

It will be noticed that the points 0 o, where the sections A are joined to the sections B, are located a little way up on the sides of the book when closed, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. This arrangementeffects a slight spreading apart of the upper ends of the sections B or standard portion of the holder when the book is thrown open, as shown in Fig. 3 ofthe drawings, thus placing these portions of the elastic standard-sections under tension, so that when the book is closed the elasticity of the wire will assist in closing the book and holding it in such position.

The loops E, at the upper extremity of the sections A, when closed, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, constitute handles which are easily grasped by one hand, thereby providing means by which the stand-holder and book may be lifted up and carried about conveniently from one place to another without removing the book from the holder.

It will be noticed that each section B of the stand portion of the holder is composed of a single wire, and each section A of the upper hinged portion is also composed of a single wire, the wires being bent into the desired form, as described, and the entire holder, as described and shown in the drawings, is of only four separate wires.

Obviously some modifications may be made in the bends of the wires, and a greater number of wires may be employed, though I have found by repeated experiment that the construction which I have herein described and shown is the best for securing cheapness and lightness and at the same time providing a standard sufficiently firm and stiff for the purposes desired.

The structure is very light, cheap, and simple, and at the same time ornamental. It provides an article of very great convenience to those who have occasion frequently to consult lexicons and other such large and cumbersome books of reference.

In operation the book isclosed and placed within the hinged top. It rests on the bands 8 s, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The whole weightofthebookbeingthenbetween thepoints of support of the top, the tendency is to press the book together and hold it closed. The stand is usually so made that the spring in the wire also presses it together and assists in keeping it closed. When the book is opened the center of gravity of the two sides passes outside of the points of support; hence gravitation tends to hold the book open, the stops preventing it from opening too wide. The spring in the wire of the stand also tends to hold it open, as it presses the covers toward each other on a horizontal line which passes below the point where the two halves of the book hinge together. If the stand and top are properly constructed, gravitation or the weight of the book will alone hold it open or closed, or it may be assisted by the spring in the wire.

In practice gravitation is the principal factor; but it is found desirable to have it assisted by the spring in the wire. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A supporting-standard laterally elastic in its upper part, in combination with two supporting-leaves hinged to the upper part of the standard, connected with each other by flexible bands, and adapted, by means of the pressure of stops thereon against the outside of the standard, to support the book when opened, and, by means of the weight of the book press ing on the flexible bands, to clasp it securely between them when closed, substantially as described.

2. The supporting-standard divided at its upper end, in combination with the leavesA A, hinged to the upper ends of the standard at a point a little outside of their inner ends, and straps or ties uniting the inner ends ofthe two leaves, respectively, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The standard-sectionsB B, bent at their upper ends to form loops 0 r, in combination with the supporting-leaves A A, hinged to the straight upper bar of the sections B B, and bent around the lower member of the loops 1" r to form stops, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A standard composed of sections B B, with suitable mechanism for clasping them together at or near the middle, each section consisting of a single piece of wire bent so as to form at the top a bar or rod for the support of one side of a superstructure, and in the lower part triangular legs with the apexes downward, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The sections B B of the standard, the lower ends of which are bent upward upon themselves and linked to the upright portion of the sections, in combination with the fastening-clamps H H 151 PP, substantially as described.

6. The hinged leaves A, each composed of a single wire bent, substantially as described, to form suitable supports for the book when opened, and to provide hinge-loops at o and 0, stop-loops near the ends of the wire, and a rectangular bend, E, in the middle thereof for a a guard and handle, substantially as and for Witnesses:

D. K. TOWN, H. G. KAU'FFMAN. 

